Some great articles appearing about Andy - thanks to all for posting. I have to say I warm to Nole for his generous support of Andy for SPOTY. If he could just become a less macho winner, I'd be more of a fan. But it does underline the genuine friendship between them. I'm no Tim H fan but I agree he too has always been generous towards Andy and quick to emphasise that Andy is a better tennis player than he was.Thanks for the tip re 5-live. I can't see any tv profiles having flicked through Radio Times quickly but lots of replays of USO final.

Andy Murray is placed No. 5 with the best winning percentage in outdoor matches this year. His London 2012 Olympics and US Open title runs helped him build a 53-13 mark (. 803). Wilander is certain further glory will follow in 2013.

“I see that the goal for Murray is to improve his forehand, have more kick on his second serve and hit less slice backhands and take it earlier," said Wilander. Then, the most important goal, I think, is to allow the natural talent that Murray has to take over from his brain, because he is too smart. He tries to complicate things. If he does that then he can probably win three majors out of the four. I don’t think he will ever win Roland Garros, but if he wins three majors, then World No. 1 will be next to his name.”

For Andy Murray and the rest of Great Britain, patience proved to be a virtue this season. After a solid first half of the year, Murray caught fire in his home country, igniting a run of history-making achievements for his country.

At Wimbledon, he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semi-finals to become the first homegrown player to reach the final since Fred Perry in 1938. And while he would finish runner-up to Roger Federer in the final, Murray would have his chance a few weeks later to avenge the loss. Returning to the All England Club for the London 2012 Olympics, Murray emerged as one of Team GB’s stars of the Games. He beat Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals and compiled an impressive performance to defeat Federer in three sets to become his country’s first gold medallist for tennis in 104 years. He also added a silver medal in mixed doubles with Laura Robson.

Murray completed a trio of record-setting performances by edging Djokovic in a nerve-racking five-set final at the US Open to win his first major title, ending Great Britain’s 76-year wait for a male Grand Slam champion. All of his accomplishments came with coach Ivan Lendl at the helm.

“I was obviously very emotional. I cried a little bit on the court. You’re not sad; you’re incredibly happy,” said Murray. “You’re in a little bit of disbelief because when I have been in that position many times before and not won, you do think, Is it ever going to happen? Then when it finally does, you’re obviously very, very excited. But mainly relieved to have got over that last hurdle.”

A must read! Thank you very much for posting, written with love (" the sun blessing an open, kind face made for smiling.....")

Like this part most, although I regret the phrase;(I felt) A bit more accepted;

I've felt more confident, maybe, as a person. I walk down the street with my head up. Before I was, like, always head down. I never wanted anyone to say anything to me. That's obviously changed since the Olympics. After that I felt much more comfortable, a bit more accepted. The US Open was a huge motivation for me because I realised then that all the stuff we do here was worth it in the end. There are times when you question it, when you've lost a lot of big matches. But now I know it's worth it. It's made me want to work harder, to give myself another chance."

I love KM's writing style, especially when he is writing about Andy. In his articles KM writes the Andy that I think we see, rather than making up a version of Andy that is far removed from the truth.

Reading this has got me even more excited about next year for Andy. I'm convinced that he'll play with more confidence now he has the monkey off his back. God willing he'll win another major or two (or three!) next year and consign Perry to history once and for all.

He rarely talks about the day in March, 1996, when Thomas Hamilton shot and killed 16 children at his school, as well as one teacher, before shooting himself. It seems cruel to even mention those events but he is more comfortable talking about them now.

"A lot of people from Dunblane say it has a much more positive image now [because of his achievements]. Half my family have lived there since I was a kid. My gran and granddad do a lot for the community. They have had shops in the high street; my uncle has an opticians on the high street. It is an intimate little town and it has been nice to do something good for them. It has not changed that much. It is not something when I'm playing I really think of – but, when I go back, a lot of people mention it to me and that's nice … because … obviously, it was a terrible, terrible thing that happened."

What he also appreciated on his return was having all his family together, which does not happen often.

This made me sad, but also happy, because he sounds very optimistic, like he's in a good place, and certainly he should be keeping his head up!!

Guys,this article is of course very similar to the brilliant Guardian one John was kind enough to link us to,as they contain lots of the same quotes,but there are some things in here that weren't said in the other one,so I thought it was still worth posting it in here!

Miami heat: Gruelling regime at US base as Murray hones game for fresh assault on majors

As a restless soul desperate to win the first Grand Slam he always looked destined for, Andy Murray would pound the beaches of Miami on Christmas morning in the attempt to gain an edge over his rivals.

The US Open trophy is now in the cabinet and the questions of when and if have stopped, but the 25-year-old Scot is still leaving his footprints in the sand and taking the hard path to further glory.

Around breakfast time on Thursday the mercury was nudging 80 and Murray was out there again, beginning another session that is necessary to build the platform from which he will try to replicate the achievements of 2012.

At least he now knows the agony that he puts his body through, the lung-busting repeat 400-metre runs and torturous sequences of upwards movement on a gadget called the VersaClimber, have given him the ultimate benefit of winning a major.

He also knows that his victories at the Olympics and in New York are unlikely to win him this weekend’s Sports Personality Of The Year award, not when up against the magnetic character of Bradley Wiggins and his unprecedented triumph at the Tour de France.

Yet, as we were able to see first hand, nobody other than Murray on the glittering shortlist has to combine speed, power and physical endurance with the kind of technical finesse that is required to land a dropshot over the net like a falling snowflake.

Even those of us who are somewhat aerobically challenged could understand the torture of his repeat 400m shuttles on soft sand, marked out between beach huts.

Murray does each 400m shuttle in around one minute and 15 seconds (I take somewhat longer), and he then has the same time to rest before doing it again, 10 times.

On the track he can do the same distance in 53 seconds, the time it took Mo Farah to do his last Olympic lap, although as Murray drily observes, Farah has already done 4,600 metres by that point. Scientific analysis shows that at maximum speed when sprinting for a ball, he covers the court at more than 10 metres per second.

Small wonder that his trainer/ torturer-in-chief Jez Green reflected: ‘He is just a superb all-round athlete, genetically blessed and underpinning it with an incredible work ethic.’

Murray is so determined not to compromise his annual month-long boot camp in his second home of South Florida, prior to flying home briefly for Christmas and heading out to Australia via the Middle East, that he has sent his apologies to SPOTY.

That is one reason why he yesterday opened up his camp — which coach Ivan Lendl is a wisecracking part of, in contrast to his stony player-box demeanour — and reflected on his breakthrough year with unusual candour.

Wherever he comes on Sunday there have been more profound rewards, such as a boost to his sometimes wavering self-esteem, and the deep satisfaction that his home town of Dunblane is now known for more than just the terrible massacre he himself survived as a child.

The fear of being recognised in the street, or occasionally abused, has dissipated. ‘Since the Olympics I just feel a bit better about myself. I find it easier to walk around with my head up, whereas before I was always head down, not wanting anyone to see me or say anything,’ Murray said.

‘Maybe I felt that having lost in Grand Slam finals I was letting whoever it was down. I know I had been reminded every day for the last six years that it’s this long since someone from our country won a Slam. So there was part of me probably that felt a little bit of responsibility. It’s nice not to have worry about that any more and see what else I can achieve.’

It is clear that a true highlight of 2012 was his post-US Open visit home, when 20,000 thronged Dunblane’s streets.

‘A lot of people there say that it has a much more positive image now and it has been great to do something for them.

‘Half my family still live there, my grandparents do a lot for the community and my uncle has a shop there. It was weird walking down the High Street, when I was young it seemed so massive yet when I was walking down it that day it seemed so little. When people mention the more positive image it’s nice because it was a terrible thing that happened there once.’

Murray still cannot remember much of the climax to the US Open from when he sat down at 5-2 in the final set to the moment when, somewhat shambolically, he was left searching for his sponsored watch in the immediate aftermath.

‘People have asked if I still have the racket but I think I threw it into the crowd with my shirt. The whole thing was a bit of a blur. I was wondering what song they played in the stadium at the changeover as I was preparing to serve it out and I’m told it was I Feel So Close by Calvin Harris.

‘The strange thing is I bumped into him at the airport the following day and he came up to say congratulations, I really like that song but had no idea that it was playing just before I won.

‘With the watch I had just started with Rado before Wimbledon and after I lost the final there I forgot to put it on and so I got into trouble. That’s why I went over to my box and asked where it was, they had put it in a zipped pocket in my racket bag and I couldn’t find it.’

Lendl has been key to his success and the sometimes headstrong Murray admits that, due to the weight of his mentor’s achievements, he listens to him in a way he should have listened to other coaches in the past.‘When we started it was much more short term — “Let’s see how the first few months of the year goes” — now we are asking what are we going to be doing in four or five years’ time. We’re very honest and open and that’s why we are planning long term.

‘After I lost in the Australian Open semis Ivan just seemed to say the right things, that’s when I knew. When I lost at Wimbledon he knew exactly what I was feeling because he has been there himself.’

Most days here Lendl supervises the technical practice, using Britain’s Jamie Baker and former US Open junior champion Oliver Golding as partners.

Green plots the on-court sprint and endurance training, using eight stations that are designed to replicate movement in rallies. They have analysed matches against Novak Djokovic and seen that many points can last between 60 and 70 seconds, so the idea is that Murray can physically cope with whatever the Serb throws at him.

Of course pre-season is hardly party time either for the likes of Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who is on the comeback trail. That is why Murray needs to remain a restless soul, and why he has to keep on running.

I was just about to post the Guardian piece, having seen it in my paper, but was beaten to it! Love the quote about Andy holding his head up. And great piece by Mike Dickson too. Very interesting what Andy says about how he knew when Lendl was right for him. And brings home the sense of responsibility he felt when he didn't win a GS. Hate to think that he ever received abuse when walking round.